I had to laugh when this topic from Long and Short Reviews came up. I have often had people ask me if, as a writer, I enjoyed English literature at school and my simple answer is that no, I didn't. The entire process of reading a book slowly out loud in class, paragraph by paragraph, analysing every word in every sentence, seemed designed to destroy any love of literature - as was proven to me by the fact that I enjoyed "To Kill a Mockingbird", which I read by choice, whereas my friends who were forced to study it hated every word in that book.
The two that I remember specifically? "The Catcher in the Rye" and "Lord of the Flies". I imagine I would have enjoyed them more had I not been forced to write essays comparing Roger and Simon or dissecting Holden's memories of his younger brother. The only part I didn't mind was when we were asked to write an extra chapter of "The Catcher in the Rye", which I used to give Holden a second shot with his childhood sweetheart. I liked having the chance to adapt my writing style to match the book, and apparently I did a reasonable job at it since I got a decent mark.
Hmm. Maybe that's why I liked working with Totally Bound on "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" so much.
So which books did you read in school and dislike?
I felt the same way about The Catcher in the Rye.
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing when you're a kid and in school: they say you 'have' to do something and your instinct is to do the opposite. At least that's how it was for me! 😂
ReplyDeleteI've never read either of those, but I get where you're coming from. I don't like to analyze stories, I just want to enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteLord of the Flies made my list, too. Yuck!
ReplyDeletehttps://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2025/08/wednesday-weekly-blogging-challenge.html
We were spared "The Catcher in the Rye" because it had been controversial. I never have read it.
ReplyDeletePris cilla King